Presenting a fully automated wafer grinding solution for hard-to-grind materials from Engis Corporation, USA. This state-of-the-art offering, with fully automatic enhanced multi-spindle grinding system (Engis’s Hyprez® EAG Model), provides a low capital and operating expenditure solution for high precision wafering, giving an economic benefit to customers.
The machine includes non-contact, in-situ thickness measurement techniques for targeted wafer thickness control. The aim is to produce ultra-flat wafers in a fully automatic cassette-to-cassette operation for grinding SiC wafers on both sides and to develop tailored ‘Grind-to-CMP Processes’ for all wafers sliced by any wafering techniques.
Please contact us for more information on Wafer Processing Systems from Engis Corp. USA.
Engis Corporation technology has contributed to the powerful cutting-edge technology that is enabling the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope to answer questions about our solar system, study exoplanets in new ways, and look deeper into the universe than we’ve ever been able to.
Much of what powers JWST’s ability to see deep into space comes from its 21-foot-wide primary mirror which is comprised of 18 segments made from Beryllium.
Beryllium is a light metal that is very strong for its weight and is good at holding its shape across a range of temperatures. Because beryllium is very difficult to grind and polish, diamond machining processes were used to fabricate the mirror segments. Before the segments were coated with a thin layer of gold the segments were polished by L3 Tinsley Laboratories using specially developed Engis diamond abrasive products.
With Engis HYPREZ Lapping & Polishing Systems, we can engineer the right solution to meet your lapping application challenge. Whether you’re looking for a complete lapping and polishing system or simply a lapping machine, lapping plate,diamond slurry or tube of compound, we can satisfy your needs. With decades of experience in lapping and polishing, Engis offers complete solutions which include machine design, machine accessories and consumables that work in harmony achieving the best possible part quality at the lowest overall cost.
Engis Flat Lapping and Polishing systems are capable of consistently generating extreme flatness with 0.5 nm RA surface finishing or better. Our systems are suitable for processing virtually all solid materials, including metals, ceramics, glass, semiconductor substrates, advanced materials and electro-optical materials.
Bobcat® Improves Productivity 300% with Engis Single-Pass Bore Finishing System
For more than 50 years, Bobcat skid-steer loaders have represented durability and reliable performance for construction, landscaping, and agricultural applications in the USA. The key to a dependable loader is to have properly balanced horsepower and hydraulics so operators can work efficiently in rugged conditions. With an eye to continuous product performance and reliability improvement, Bobcat recently invested in an Engis bore finishing system which has not only improved the quality of a key hydraulic component, but increased manufacturing throughput 300%.
Tightening the Process
Simultaneous precision finishing and gauging of four bores in a hydraulic valve body. Using the Engis system enabled Bobcat to reduce cycle time from 253 to 89 seconds per part
Previously, Bobcat finished the control valves on its skid-steer hydraulic pump bodies by using a multi-pass honing system that required operator manipulation with each part. The honing machine would make a pass to finish three dia. 15.877 mm (0.6251″) bores on the G2 steel casting. Then, an operator would move the part 180 degrees on the die so the machine could make a second pass through the valves on an off-set bore.
“We had to take extra measures to make sure the valves wouldn’t leak, which is essential for our customers,” said Dean Cota, Bobcat Sr. Manufacturing Engineer. “We had to run the honing system through multiple times because each spindle had only one stone on it. Each head would go through the bore three times to perform the roughing, semi-finish, and finish steps. Then we would manually reposition the part and run it through again.”
The finishing process was slow and required extra operator care to guarantee tight bore tolerances. While researching other honing options that would improve productivity, Cota discovered Engis’ single-pass bore finishing, which provides a multi-spindle head that hones with three/four tools in close proximity to each other. This unique arrangement allows the roughing, semi-finish, and finishing operations to be performed simultaneously on all of the valve bores in a part.
Engis custom designed the Single-Pass Bore Finishing System to Bobcat’s specifications. The machine has six stations for which the part is transferred through by a rotary index table.
Station #1 is the load/unload position.
In station #2, a vision system is used to verify that the part is loaded correctly and that the proper part is present for the current program being run.
Stations #3, #4, and #5, each have independent servo controlled columns, with 4 spindle multi-heads for holding the diamond honing tools.
Station #6 utilizes an independent servo controlled column with a head holding 4 multi-jet gage probes. This gauge unit allows every land of every bore to be inspected in the X and Y planes for size. The gage also has advanced features which allow it to measure the bore sizes of the rough and semi-finish operations on command.
The Engis system achieves tolerances to 0.5μm (0.000020″) ensuring bores are consistently straight and cylindrical, which are critical for the spool and valve bore to fit properly in the hydraulic system. When hydraulic valves perform optimally, they can withstand a higher pressure, which improves overall performance of the skid-steer loaders.
The single-pass boring process is achieved through a series of progressively finer, high-precision electroplated diamond tools. The diamond size grit on the tools are to 100/120, 200/230 and 325/400. The free-floating nature of the tooling results in superior bore consistency and a faster cycle time.
The old multi-pass honing system took 253 seconds per part, which included two boring passes, re-setup of the machine and flipping parts. The new single-pass boring system takes 89 seconds, improving throughput by nearly 300%.
Reducing Errors
The Engis system eliminates the need to reposition the part to finish it, reducing system time and eliminating a potential source of error.
By automating the bore finishing system and reducing operator contact with the parts, Bobcat has reduced the chance for mistakes.
“When someone handles a part, it introduces an opportunity for errors to happen,” said Cota. Now, with the new Engis boring system, where we don’t have to flip the part, the operator doesn’t have to touch anything, so the potential source for errors has been eliminated.”
Operator transition to the new single-pass bore finishing system was simple due to built-in CNC programming. “When the machine hit our production floor, the programs were all ready to use,” said Cota. “Now the operator just pulls up the right program for each part. It’s been running pretty much flawlessly since we first got it more than a year ago.” The machine’s vision system identifies that the right parts are loaded before the program runs, which further prevents errors.
Engis can custom design special machines to finish all bores simultaneously for maximum productivity.
The advanced gauging system 100% inspects and measures the bores for geometric precision so that every part coming off the line is exactly to spec, which provides further peace of mind for the operators. Because the single-pass process spreads the workload over a series of high-precision electroplated diamond tools, Bobcat requires very few tooling changes, which saves on consumable costs.
“The tooling costs are so low on the new bore finishing machine that we have a hard time measuring our tooling cost savings,” noted Cota. “We ran the machine for six months, six days a week for 20 hours a day before we had to change the tooling. At an average run of 165 parts per day, we produced nearly 24,000 parts before we needed to change out the tooling.”
In addition, the new Engis bore finishing system has decreased cycle times to the point that the plant can take on additional honing production without requiring any additional capital investments.
If you manufacture valves, then you know how important getting a good seal is. Whether it is a gate, ball or butterfly valve, the extreme pressures and corrosive elements that valves are exposed to can create leaks in the system; this can lead to costly onsite repairs.
In some cases, for higher pressure valves or ones exposed to corrosive gases or fluids, a gasket or O-Ring cannot be used as the sealing approach. When two high precision metal surfaces need to be mated, different surface textures are required to avoid galling. Engis Hyprez® Flat Lapping Systems can provide the fits and finishes required for a precision seal that will extend the life of the valve between plant turnarounds. Engis has the complete system, machines, lapping plates, accessories and consumables to get the job done right the first time.
For ball valves, Engis has a complete range of diamond compounds, powders, slurries and lubricants for the precision lapping of balls and seats. Our L compound has provided superior cut rates and finishes for a wide range of seating applications. In addition, our diamond slurries, compounds and lubricants are well known for their quality in the precision polishing of the balls themselves.
Engis is also a leader in complete systems for the lapping of mechanical seals. Not only do we work with the original seal manufacturers, but provide machines, accessories and consumables to repair facilities as well as a hand lapping kit for onsite work in the field.
To learn how Engis assisted Morgan Advanced Materials in improving their processing of ceramic mechanical seals clickhere.
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